Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
AIDEN
I don’t know how long I stay in the car, but I’m pretty sure my heart stopped the second Tinsley closed the door. The songs on the radio change. People walk by on the sidewalk. My phone beeps a few times.
Thanks to the wonders of gravity, it’s not possible for a person to fall if they’re already seated, but if last night with the way I left things with Tinsley was torture, now I’m floored. I’ve hit rock bottom.
Like a creeper, I used my night vision gear to make sure she was safe in the trailer. Brave was there, but I wanted to make sure Puma wasn’t lurking around, trying to make good on his threats during the encounter on Main Street.
After Tinsley and my conversation in my office, I scolded myself because I shouldn’t have allowed myself to surpass the usual flirty interest in her. What was I thinking?
It was in my best interest professionally and otherwise to have kept my distance. I couldn’t afford to reveal my identity. But I crossed the line. I knew better.
I’m so close to putting a lot of corrupt people in prison, I shouldn’t have risked it. Tinsley was involved with Puma even if she didn’t do anything wrong. At first, I told myself it was just to keep an eye on her. To get info. Who was I kidding? I fell and I fell hard.
My job is to protect the innocent. Indict the guilty. I’ve kept it simple until now, and look where that got me. Sitting alone in my car.
My phone beeps again. My heart restarts at the possibility that it’s Tinsley.
I check. It’s Harrison. I’m close to cracking the case and have to wash my hands of it. I relented and relinquished my maverick title. Did something I never before had to do, I asked for help. Last night, when I couldn’t sleep and knowing Harrison is in an earlier time zone, I shared everything I know. I read his text.
Harrison: The rats have left the nest.
Officer Henley’s code for a doughnut run comes to mind, but I can’t make sense of what this could mean.
I start to type a message back when a shadow crosses the side of my car. An identical Maybach pulls up, only it’s blood red.
Didn’t Tinsley say her father owns one? Perhaps he’s come to pick her up.
In sync, two tall, pale, and sharp-eyed men get out and stalk toward Sweethearts Bakery and Café.
My heart accelerates. I go from stationary to revving with adrenaline.
The Kraven brothers are in Butterbury.
Every muscle in my body coils, prepared to spring into action, but they haven’t done anything yet. Nothing that I can prove. And if they see me and make the connection, that’ll compromise the case.
They know I’m the reason they originally went to prison, not that it made much of a difference given it didn’t slow down the construction of their evil empire.
This is what Harrison must’ve meant by the rats leaving the nest. This confirms my sense that the case has become a rats’ nest
It can’t be a coincidence that the Kraven brothers came here the day after Harold Jerrold Pumanowksi paid a visit.
“Give me a reason to put you both away for the rest of your lives,” I hiss under my breath.
The two hawkish city slickers enter the Sweetheart Bakery & Café.
Something in me snaps.
They entered a no-fly zone. I cannot hold back and with bad intentions, I get out of the car.
But upon entering the bakery and as Tinsley welcomes them, I can’t reveal our connection. I just hope she’s mad enough at me to pretend I don’t exist.
The Kravens are the kinds of guys who’ll go after the family, friends, and loved ones of people who owe them something, including Stoll’s wife. Including Tinsley, if I don’t act fast.
I’ll just keep my head down and order a coffee like a normal customer...one with a pair of handcuffs, leaving me with a bit of a delicate situation.
One of them edges toward the little plywood half door that separates the area behind the counter from the rest of the bakery. They’re not messing around.
“What can I get you guys?” Tinsley asks brightly.
She ignores me, thank goodness. At least for now.
The other brother says, “Your number.”
Her cheeks blister and her expression crumbles like she’s uncomfortable. “Oh, um, I don’t give that out. I have a—”
All I have going for me right now is the element of surprise. These two idiots are too arrogant to watch their six. Likely, they have a thug or two outside, but at the moment, I have the upper hand.
I remove my sidearm and rack the slide so they know I’m not fooling around. “Hands up where I can see them.”
One obeys. The other starts to turn around.
I take a step back so I can keep them both in my sights.
“Miss, please leave the premises,” I say, hoping she goes out the back door and directly to the Starlight. Rhondy will know what to do. She always does.
The other Kraven brother lifts his hands. I don’t expect them to come easily and I have to buy time for Henley to get here with a second pair of cuffs.
“What’s this about?” the brother on the left asks.
“It’s about blackmail, kidnapping, extortion, and the illegal purchase of this town, among other things. The list is long, boys.”
“You can’t prove a thing,” the other brother says.
“I can and I will and the two of you will go back where you belong.”
The second brother completes his rotation and looks at the sidearm then at me. “Aiden Fuller. Well, this is an interesting surprise, considering you tried to ruin us.”
“Tried, failed, won’t happen again.”
“Did we become your pet project?”
“No, I try to avoid scum like you, but as fate would have it, you stepped onto my turf. For the record, a bad deed will not go unpunished,” I grind out.
“Fuller, you can be sure you’ll be seeing us again.”
“Yep. Behind bars.”
“On what grounds?”
“I’ll come up with something and I’ll be sure to visit. Then again, you shouldn’t get lonely since you have each other. Misery loves company and all that.”
Sirens wail nearby and in less than sixty seconds, Henley is by my side and on alert. I half expect the Kravens to attempt to run or put up a fight, but we have them surrounded. They underestimated our little town.
We make the arrests and the Kraven brothers occupy the same jail cells Tinsley and I did until I arrange transport to another facility.
After doing the necessary paperwork, I want nothing more than to find Tinsley and make sure she’s okay, but the guys intercept me with a box of doughnuts and don’t let me go until we head up to my office for a debrief. Aggie joins us.
“Okay, secret agent. Explain what all just went down,” Taylor says as if in awe.
I arrange the pieces in my mind, most of which only came into focus today, like a Sherlock Holmes grand reveal. “Sheldon Gatlin Hebert was a scrappy, scrawny, skinny kid from a small town in Louisiana. He fell in love with the daughter of an oilman. Joyce Estelle Blanchard grew up wealthy and her daddy would accept nothing less for her future.”
“I take it Sheldon Gatlin Hebert is also known as Gatlin Stoll,” Bo says.
“You got it. So the young, enterprising man skimmed some money from the coffers of the local swim club where he worked as a custodian. He placed a bet on a horse at the Louisiana Downs and won. He must’ve enjoyed the thrill because he kept betting until he amassed a nice little nest egg to present to Daddy Blanchard in exchange for the blessing of their union.”
“Sneaky,” Buck says.
“What’s sneaky is the two of you having a boys club meeting up here without us,” Mae says, appearing in the doorway.
“You have your own headquarters,” I reply.
The ladybosses and Bess all file in and take seats.
“Where’s Tinsley?” I ask.
“She’s with Rhondy.”
My shoulders settle. She should be here with me, but I understand why she’s mad at the moment. I owe her an apology and an explanation, but I have to get through this inquisition first. I owe this group the facts. Tinsley will want those and more...and I’m ready to give her anything she wants—all of me—if she’ll take me back.
“Can you start from the top?” Bess asks.
I repeat what I told the guys then add, using the familiar names for ease of understanding, “Shortly after Gatlin and Estelle were married, they moved to Nevada. Supposedly Stoll had a job there, but he got in over his head gambling. Years passed in a feast-or-famine fashion. Then the Kraven Casino opened.”
“And that’s owned by the two guys you just arrested?” Christina asks.
I nod and Cassian eyes me like he knows there’s more to that story.
“Suffice it to say, the Kravens and I go back. I went to work for their company and quickly moved through the ranks then they made me an offer I had to refuse. Turned them in to the authorities. Became an agent because I detected something their best men did not. I have a way with numbers.”
“And all that time, we thought you had a way with women,” Bess says.
“That too.” I smirk though only one woman comes to mind.
“So you got the Kravens in trouble?” Nash asks, impressed.
“I did and have been watching my back ever since. They’re a vengeful, merciless pair. Back to the story. Gatlin got in over his head gambling. Unbeknownst to his wife, he sold off everything they owned to cover the gambling debt. Then he met a guy named Gannon Barnes. Some of you may know him.”
Louella Belle bristles.
“Your brother?” Camellia asks.
She nods regretfully.
“The two ran countless scams and just when it looked like Gatlin was going to recover, he lost it all, including Estelle. She left him. That is until he made his way here, and became the mayor. However, the Kravens still wanted their money so they blackmailed him into participating in their shady dealings. He became their puppet.”
“Hydro-pro, among the other arrangements?” Buck asks smartly.
“You got it.”
“So the Kravens don’t only own the casino?” Christina asks.
“They owned Gatlin and have their fingers all over every piece of dirty money in this country. Now, I can prove it,” I say.
“What about the cat?” Aggie asks.
I nearly forgot she was here. “Stoll wanted to prove to his wife that he wasn’t a complete loser and made the mistake of reaching out to her. After multiple failures with Hydro-pro, the tax stuff, falsifying documents, deeds, liens, and reallocating town funds into his own account, he made a final gambit. He’d sell Butterbury to the Kravens. It was the perfect plan.”
“He can’t sell a town.”
“No, but a certain Gannon Barnes convinced him he could.”
Louella Belle puffs her cheeks as she exhales. Bo rubs her shoulders.
“The Kravens took Estelle as collateral to make sure Gatlin was good for the deal.”
“What about the cat?” Aggie repeats.
“I’m getting there. The Kravens kidnapped Estelle. Gatlin got word and went to get the cat because Cindy Clawford is listed as the heir to his estate. Not that there is one.”
“Then why did he leave the cat in the garage?” Camellia asks.
“What about the Hawaiian shirt?” Bess asks.
“Where is Stoll?” Mae follows up.
Aggie gets to her feet and picks the scrapbook up off my desk, skipping the gloves this time.
“You would’ve made a fine agent, Aggie,” I say, confirming her suspicions.
“Stoll is in Hawaii where he and his wife spent their honeymoon. You could say he got cold feet and has been trying to negotiate Estelle’s release from the Kraven’s clutches.”
“I thought Gatlin was broke, how did he afford a plane ticket?” Bess asks.
“Don’t tell me he used tax money,” Taylor growls.
“Nope. Tinsley realized the cat’s collar had a number on the inside.”
Christina gasps. “To a safe.”
I nod. “When Sheldon Gatlin Hebert got carried away and gave away their house, Estelle Joyce Blanchard took the remains of her inheritance and put it in a safety deposit box at a bank in Nevada.”
“What about Mrs. Stoll, is she going to be okay?”
“I think so. We’re working on it. Stoll is being brought in. The Kravens are going to jail for a long time. This case is the tip of the iceberg. Their crimes are wide, deep, and cold. Would chill you to the bones, but they're clever and cover their tracks. Now, we have something solid.”
Cassian claps me on the back. “Well done.”
“What’s your next case?” Aggie asks.
I chuckle. “How about the mystery of the missing book?”
“Sounds right up my alley.”
That night, Tinsley refuses to answer Toby’s door. She won’t talk to me. I blew it just when I’d decided to choose her over work. But I had to finalize the case. Serve justice one last time. Finish what I started before I begin my new life.
The next morning, a sleek black sedan pulls up to Toby as I trundle through the woods on the four-wheeler. The driver, in slacks and a white button-down shirt, puts Tinsley’s luggage and a box in the back. She and Brave get in. I’m too late. Now, they’re really gone.
I spend the day in the office doing paperwork. Even though I solved the case, my life unraveled. I had it all for thirty days. It’s over.
I try to take a few deep breaths, but not even cute cats help me now. Not a big one like Aslan either. All is lost. I’m alone.
Later, when I get back to the trailer, I find traces of Tinsley. Her dewy, rainy scent lingers in the air. She left a pink hair tie on the counter. One of Brave’s chew toys is on the floor under the table.
And on the bed, freshly made, a doll with a chubby ceramic face and rosy cheeks leers at me from its glassy, eerie eyes. Its hair is sparse like maybe a mouse ate it when pickings were slim. The doll wears a tatty floral dress and holds what looks like a pitchfork.
Murder Doll.
I stagger slightly then honing my senses, I listen. Footsteps patter and someone whispers. I grab the flashlight by the door and shine it into the night. “Who’s there?”
“Wooo. It’s the ghost of...” a spooky female voice starts then whispers, “What was I again?”
“Shh. He’ll hear you.”
“I’m Lucinda, the ghost of love, here to tell you that you’ve been a fool.”
A second, eerily possessed voice, says, “And I’m Murry the Murder Doll, here to exact revenge for the one you lost.”
I whip around, but the doll remains still on the bed in the trailer. Never sleeping there again.
“Wooo, you have a choice to make,” the ethereal, ghostly voice says.
I roll my eyes, realizing my sisters are out there putting this on.
“The choice I’m going to make is which sister to get first.” I rush out the door and the two of them, crouched by the grill, scatter.
I make chase, not wanting either of them to go into the woods or get lost up here in case there are wolves or coyotes nearby. For a moment, I feel young again, free, and like I wear the same smile Tinsley did when she was playing in the field with Bubba’s kids—moments before her encounter with the bees. I want Tinsley more than anything. Maybe my sisters can help.
It’s dark and late. There’s a good chance we could come across much worse than insects.
“Bess, Mae, want something cold to drink?” I call.
“Yes, please. I forgot how sweaty I get when I run,” Bess calls, panting.
“Do you have chocolate?” Mae asks. “I’m only calling a truce if there’s chocolate.”
“I can’t make any promises. Maybe Tinsley left some.”
A deep grunt comes from nearby, and I crash to the ground having tripped over something at the same time all one hundred-something pounds of my baby sister tackles me.
From the hard landing, I groan as the wind kicks out of my lungs. “Ow, what are you doing?”
Mae holds me down. “That’s my line. What did you do to send Tinsley packing?”
Rolling over so I can get up, I lift Mae to her feet and brush us both off. “It’s what I didn’t do. And since when do you defend Tinsley?”
“I do what’s right and fair.”
“Sounds familiar,” I mutter.
“We are not leaving until you spill your guts, even if we have to drag it out of you,” Mae says.
I recoil. “You’re not painting a pretty or appealing picture.”
“Just remember, Murder Doll is watching,” Bess singsongs in a creep-tastic way.
We go inside Toby and I keep a careful eye on Murder Doll. Give me criminals and thugs, and I can handle myself, but I’m convinced that the thing is an actual article of the devil. It’s so disturbing with the way it stares as if it attempts to penetrate my soul. “Actually, can we get that thing out of here?”
“Only if you call up the love of your life and get her back here before she gets on an airplane.”
“How do you know she didn’t already leave?” My tone is somber, the sound of someone who has all but given up.
“She called Christina and asked if she knew of any luxury hotels in Savannah that allow dogs. Tinsley’s brother helped her out, but she’s not sure where to go,” Mae says.
Bess glares at me. “She should go here. Er, come here. You know what I mean.”
“Mae asked me what I did. It’s what I didn’t do. I didn’t tell her about my job.”
“You didn’t tell us for nearly two decades. I have to give you credit for keeping the secret. You’re like James Bond-level sly.”
“I prefer Sherlock Holmes, but yeah. Sly, sneaky, stupid.”
“Ah, so you admit it,” Mae says.
“Yes, of course, I was being stupid. I wanted to protect her. To keep her safe. To separate my job from the rest of my life. Not sure how well you keep track of criminals, but I deal with some pretty nasty characters.”
“And there we thought you were a jet-setting playboy.”
I wink. “I was that too.”
“But Tinsley tamed you.”
“You might say that. She’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, I needed.”
Bess and Mae simultaneously sigh. “Sounds like love.”
“Oh, it’s love. One hundred and ten percent. I want it to be forever.”
This time they gasp at the same time.
“We know what to do,” Bess says.
“We do?” Mae asks.
“Yes. You’re going to go to Savannah. Buy a ring. Propose on the promenade by the water. Then—”
“I don’t even know where to find her.”
Bess shakes her head like I’m an egg short a dozen. “At the luxury hotel where they allow dogs.”
The space between my eyebrows pinches tight.
“We’ll ask Christina. We’ll figure it out. It’s what you do for love,” Mae says.
“She won’t want to talk to me. I broke her trust.”
“Then you have to face Murder Doll—and what was the name of the ghost?” Mae whispers to Bess.
“Oh, brother.” I press my hand to my face and draw a raspy breath.
“That’s you.”
“Yes, that’s me. Never thought you’d be helping me out with this.” Then again, I guess today is a day to drop the lone wolf bit, especially if I want Tinsley back.
“Aiden, think about it like this, if you took the risk to keep her safe by doing what you thought was right to protect her, you’re willing to take the risk to go to her, lay your heart at her feet even if it means she might kick it into the gutter—”
Mae shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s helping. What Bess means is you always said you were going to be the last man standing. That means you’ve seen all of us fall in love, but what happened before that?”
“Taylor thinking I was going to kill him if he so much as looked at you,” I say, recalling our bull session. The bro version of a heart-to-heart. “But he risked it anyway,” I say, seeing where this is going.
“And Cassian and I could’ve gone our separate ways, but we’re better together.” Bess flutters her lashes like she’s as in love as ever.
“So you’re saying that true love is worth risking my pride for even if she decides she doesn’t want me back?”
They both smile and nod like I just suggested we go get ice cream, which I could go for right now. I get why it helps the brokenhearted and desperate during times like this.
“Okay, I’ll go and do it, but Murder Doll has to disappear, forever, and...” I give them instructions if Tinsley returns to Butterbury with me and it involves flowers, chocolates from Sweethearts, and our closest friends.